An under-15 team from the Jewish Free School (JFS), in London, were playing in a national cup quarter-final at Thorpe St Andrew School when the shocking scenes unfolded.

JFS pupils claim they were told to "go back to the gas chambers" and were called "dirty Zionists" by the crowd, which was said to be mostly comprised of pupils from the Norfolk school.

The match took place at Thorpe St Andrew School (Image: Google Maps)

The incident, which has made headlines in the New York Times and the Times of Israel, has been reported to the police and the English Schools' Football Association (ESFA), who are both investigating.

It has put Thorpe St Andrew into the spotlight, with the school under pressure to explain exactly what happened, what action was taken and what it is now doing.

The JFS team said they heard repeated chants of "Jews" during the game, as well as slurs against Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

One mixed-race boy alleged he was called a "N***** Jew" and a player also claimed he was called a "monkey" - a term that has been used by Islamic extremists as a slur against Jewish people.

Students from the JFS say the offensive remarks began from the moment the team started warming up on the pitch for last Thursday's match, which was the eighth round of the ESFA Boys Under-15 Schools' Cup.

LFS school in Kenton, north London (Image: Google Maps)

They say they raised their concerns but allege that staff from Thorpe St Andrew school "didn't seem to care" and instead allowed the abuse to continue.

The students told the Daily Mail they had been left feeling "threatened", "hurt" and "ashamed to be Jewish" after their trip to Norwich.

One mother, whose grandmother was a Holocaust survivor, told the newspaper: 'I'm broken and heartbroken that my child needed to witness the [antisemitism] that my grandmother suffered 80 years ago in Latvia and lost all her family to.

"What is so hurtful is that it was so public. It was shouted and chanted and was just everywhere. I don't understand where the adults were to stop it from happening.

"My son just loves football, he just wanted to go out there and play. The team were so excited, because it was the first time they had reached the quarter finals - but it all went wrong."

Broad Horizons Education Trust, which runs the Thorpe school, has declined to comment.

But in a letter to parents, Penny Bignell, the principal, said antisemitic behaviour was "completely unacceptable" and the school had started a full investigation.

Alice Macdonald, the Labour MP whose North Norwich constituency covers Thorpe, said: “These reports are extremely concerning.

MP Alice Macdonald (Image: Denise Bradley)

"It is right that the school has launched a full investigation and I have asked to be kept updated.

"Antisemitism, wherever it is found, is abhorrent and has no place in Norwich or anywhere.”

In a letter, Dr David Moody, the headteacher of JFS, told parents the school will collect statements from all those involved, before contacting Thorpe St Andrew School and ESFA.

“The team has done the school extremely proud going so deep into the competition and they should never have had to put up with the abuse that was thrown at them,” he added.

A spokesman for the ESFA said it was investigating.

A spokesman for Norfolk police said: “The incident happened during a football match, held on Thursday 5 March on Laundry Lane, Thorpe St Andrew, where antisemitic chants were heard coming from spectators. Enquiries are ongoing.”

A spokesman for the Campaign Against Antisemitism, the advocacy group, said there was "no excuse" for what amounted to "outrageous and potentially criminal behaviour".

He added: "We urge the police to investigate and any offenders must face the full force of the law. The school too must probe what has happened and take urgent educational steps.

"We cannot allow tropes like these to become normalised in British schools."

Founded in 1732 as the Jews' Free School in the East End, JFS, in Kenton, north west London, is Britain's largest Jewish school.

Thorpe St Andrew School won the match 4-1, knocking JFS out of the competition.

But the team and parents have claimed they were disadvantaged by the alleged abuse and have called for the game to be declared void and Thorpe to be disqualified.

© Norwich Evening News